Woodley United manager Jordan Blake preached patience as his side picked up their first win of the season in seven-goal thriller at home to Windsor on Tuesday night.
The Kestrel’s were 2-1 up at the break with new signing Matteo Giacobbe adding to Alfie Ward’s first-half opener, while Enow Ojong added a third 10 minutes into the second and it was 4-1 with 10 to go.
Windsor though made it a nervy last few minutes scoring in the 88th and 94th minutes.
Blake though was understandably delighted for his young side, securing a first three points in the 10th league game of the season: “Overall that was a good result. It’s a brand new group with a lot of them playing at Step 6 for the first time. It’s taken them a few weeks to learn the level. that win was for the players and the club’s board who’ve supported us very positively.”
As seasons go, it’s not been the easiest start for The Kestrels who saw a number of players depart in the summer for higher levels and a reset required.
“I wasn’t panicking,” revealed Blake when asked if he had been worried. “As a manager you do maybe doubt yourself in those moments. There’s still a long season ahead and a lot of games to play. We don’t have a budget here, we have to do things differently. We’ve focussed this season on young players this season, bringing them through and giving them opportunities. There are plenty of courses and academies with great young players around this area and we can give them a platform .”
The manager has had to bide his time to add a bit of experience to the Rivermoor-based squad: “I have bought in a couple of experienced heads the last few weeks. We’ve had to wait and be patient. I knew it would take us a little while to get running, I was hoping it wouldn’t be nine or 10 games into the season!”
He was full of praise as well for striker Enow Ojong, the scorer of Woodley’s brilliant third goal on the night: “Enow has been with us since the summer and he’s played in and around Step 5 and 6. He’d be the first to say he needs to find some consistency. That’s my challenge to be able to get him there. He wants to grow and develop as a player.
Ojong has played for a number of clubs around the area including Guildford City, Fleet Town and Virginia Water: “He’s definitely got the ability and can go higher, but we have to help him find that consistency. He had some of that on Tuesday night and scored a brilliant goal in the second half.”
And while the weight of a wait for a first win might finally have been put to bed, Blake knows his side have to build on what they’ve started. It would be a statement of intent to come away with something from a home fixture against second placed Belstone on Saturday. Patience then is the key: “This is my third season as a manager. I’ve had to learn and have a little patience. We decided in the summer this was the route we wanted to go down as a club and the board have supported me. I have to be patient and we have to trust this process. It’s my job to keep the positivity high with the players and the coaches.
“We can compete. We’ve shown that now and the challenge is to go on and repeat it in the next game and the next game.”
